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A group of Democratic lawmakers is seeking information from the Biden administration on the use of crypto assets by terrorist groups.\u00a0<\/p>\n
More than 100 US lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, penned a letter to both the National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and the Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the Treasury, Brian Nelson, concerning reports that the militant group Hamas raised money through crypto.<\/p>\n
The letter<\/a> cites an article from the Wall Street Journal <\/em>which speculated that Hamas used crypto as a way to fund its recent attacks on Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat the deadly attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians comes as the group has become \u2018one of the most sophisticated crypto users in the terror-finance domain\u2019 clarifies the national security threat crypto poses to the US, and our allies,\u201d the politicians wrote.<\/p>\n They ask Sullivan and Nelson to address a number of questions, including how the Biden administration is approaching the use of crypto \u201cby terrorist organizations.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n They\u2019re also looking to get a firm estimate on how much was raised by both Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The Wall Street Journal <\/em>report estimated that the groups raised roughly $130 million worth of crypto between August 2021 and June 2023.<\/p>\n Blockworks\u2019 Andrew Thurman interviewed experts on organizations \u2014 like Hamas \u2014 using crypto to fundraise<\/a>, and found that, because of crypto\u2019s trackable nature, law enforcement is generally able to \u201csuccessfully freeze crypto assets held by terrorist groups.\u201d<\/p>\n Israel, earlier this month, froze Hamas-linked donation accounts<\/a> with the help of UK law enforcement and Binance. Tether also froze<\/a> roughly 32 wallets believed to be suspicious due to potential links to terrorism and warfare.<\/p>\n Hamas said earlier this year that its military wing had suspended bitcoin fundraising efforts, citing \u201cconcern about the safety of donors,\u201d according to Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n In early 2022, the US Treasury Department said in a risk assessment that \u201cterrorist use of virtual assets appears to remain limited when compared to other financial products and services.\u201d<\/p>\n Don\u2019t miss the next big story \u2013 join our\u00a0free daily newsletter<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n
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